PI12-blend

And this is what we are making:

DESCRIPTION: Make a beautiful blend with PI.
Tutorial: Copyright © Inge Klement

PI Version: 12 (but you can use earlier versions too)
Level: Intermediate
Featured tools: Pick Tool
Additional filters: Eye Candy 4000 (altern. Eye Candy 3)
Additional files: 1 tube, 1 mask and 1 background texture .
You'll get the tube and the mask in the zip-file
(- you have to download the background texture here/
1024x768 - the 1.texture on the 2.last row, called gh_texture_22.jpg -
I've added the mask to the zip-file, because it seems that the site doesn't exist anymore.)

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Supplies: Special thanks to Fredo for these beautiful tube.
You are allowed to download it here and use it for your private use,
but you are not allowed to change the name of the tube,
delete the watermark, neither offer it for sale or download.
The copyright © belongs ALWAYS to the original artist/designer!
No copyright infringement is intended.

Remember to save often!

Before we start, you should open the mask, and store them into your Easy Palette. In case you need to freshen up your memory on how to save a mask into the EP - you can take a look at one of my other tutorials, where I explain a little bit more about how to use a mask in PI. You'll find the tutorial here. Important - in my tutorials my masks fit the chosen background/object ... you achieve this by right clicking any mask inside the original category Mask Library in your Easy Palette. Now you choose the option Fit Mask. Very important: Do NOT merge the pictures before I tell you to do so!
	I suppose you've downloaded the texture from here ... open the background texture - gh_texture_22.jpg and duplicate it twice (Ctrl+D). Minimize one of the duplicates, and resize the other one to 800x600 Pixels. Open the tube ... fredo-design-243, copy (Ctrl+C) the tube (1), activate our main picture (2), and paste (Ctrl+V) the copy of the tube on it. Minimize the original tube (we will need it later again) ... the tube on the main picture should still be activated. Right click the tube on our main picture/Properties/ Position & Size (3)/Size and resize the tube. Make sure the box "Keep aspect ratio" is ticked (red arrow), and change the Width to 467 (white hand). Now we can change the position of the tube too. Left: -16 / Top: -1 (white arrows). Click OK and keep the tube activated.

	Choose the Pick Tool (white hand), change the Trans- parency to 50 (red arrow) and the Soft edge to 4 (white arrow). Merge All. Go to Photo/Blur/Gausssian Blur/Options and set the Radius to 3. Minimize this picture (our main picture).

	Small picture: Open the minimized duplicate of the background texture, and go to Adjust/Resize. Untick the box Keep aspect ratio (re arrow) and change the Width to 600 Pixels, and the Height to 520 Pixels (1). Click OK. Open the minimized tube ... fredo-design-243 -, copy (Ctrl+C) the tube and paste (Ctrl+V) the copy of the tube on our small picture. Close the downloaded tube ... the tube on the small picture should still be activated. Right click the tube on our main picture/Properties/ Position & Size/Position and use these settings: Left: -17 / Top: 0. Keep the tube activated, choose the Pick Tool and change the Transparency to 25, and the Soft edge to 4. Merge All and keep the small picture open.

	Maximize our main picture (800x600 Pixels), copy (Ctrl+C) our small picture (1), and paste (Ctrl+V) the copy of it on our main picture (2). Right click now the small picture on our main picture/ Properties/Position & Size (white hand)/Position and use these settings: Left: 27 (red arrow) / Top: 40 (white arrow). Click OK and keep the small picture activated (That's very important for our next step!)

	On the screenshot you can see that the small picture still is activated (1). Open your Easy Palette/Libraries (white hand) and double-click the mask - BDMask18.PspMask (2) -, which you've downloaded, unzipped and stored into the EP.

'	On this screenshot you can see that the mask applied on the small picture (1). Keep the small picture activated, right click/Properties/ General (white hand)/Merge, and choose Inverse of Multiply (red arrow). Click OK and keep the small picture activated.

	Right click/Shadow and use these settings: Color: 81/128/159 (white hand) + 3 altern. (red arrow) X-offset: 10 Y-offset: 10 Transparency: 50 Shadow size: 100 Soft edge: 10. Click OK and keep the small picture activated. Choose the Pick Tool and change the Transparency to 25. Deselect the small picture (Enter)

	Right click/All, right click/Border, and use these settings: Border width: 2 Pixels (white hand), Direction: Inward (red arrow), Shape: Box and Anti-aliasing. Click OK and keep the border selected.

	Effect/Eye Candy 4000/Gradient Glow, click Basic (red arrow) and use these settings: Glow Width (pixels): 22,58 Soft Corners: 100 Overall Opacity: 70 + tick the box Draw Only Outside Selection. Click Color (white hand), change the Color to 122/162/177 (white arrow), and the Opacity to 80. Click OK. Add some text as you want, and your blend is finished :))

	Alternative for those who don't have Eye Candy 4000 - go to Effect/Eye Candy 3/Glow and use these settings: Width: 34 Opacity: 40 Opacity Dropoff: Medium (white arrow) Color: 122/162/177 (white hand) and do not cross for Draw Everywhere (red arrow). Add some text as you want, and your blend is finished :))
Here's the result in the original size :))


That's it! A beautiful picture ... made with PI, one tube, one mask, one background texture and one 3rd party filter. HAVE FUN!!!
If you need any help with this tutorial - or want to make suggestions to improve it - please email me!